In the refuse collection industry, an articulated arm includes a pair of grasping members mounted for opposed movement to grasp smaller containers and lift and empty the containers into a larger collection vehicle. At least one of the grasping members is driven by a remotely controllable driver and, generally, the closing and opening movements of the pair of grasping members are accomplished by a gear welded to the inner end of each member with the two gears meshing to produce opposed movements in response to movement of the driven member. Because of the enormous amount of use to which the grasping members are subjected, the gears wear relatively rapidly and must be changed quite often. One problem is that because the gears are welded in place to provide the required amount of strength, changing the gears is very difficult, time consuming, and in some instances requires a complete change of one or more of the grasping members. Thus, changing the gears is very expensive and generally requires a relatively long down-time for the collection vehicle, which adds extensively to the inconvenience and expense.
In addition to the above, the process of welding the gears onto the members can result in poor alignment, which further enhances the wear. Also, welding can be haphazard if not closely monitored so that cracks, etc. can develop greatly reducing the durability of the entire grabber structure.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bolt-on shaft and gear system for operating a grasping structure.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved bolt-on shaft and gear system with improved durability and alignment.
And another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved bolt-on shaft and gear system that is substantially easier to service and/or repair.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bolt-on shaft and gear system for operating a grasping structure that is easy to install on substantially any collection vehicle.